Nonwoven needled napped fabrics, particularly for use in the formation of blankets, outerwear, draperies, upholstery and other types of products, have become increasingly popular over the past ten to twenty years. These nonwoven fabrics utilize a batt of textile fibers of various constructions which are needled by needling apparatus or needle looms having banks of barbed needles from each side of the fabric for interlocking the fibers of the batt together and providing an integrated needled fabric which can then be napped on each of its outside surfaces for providing raised fiber surfaces to provide a fabric suitable for cutting and forming into blankets and other types of products. Such a nonwoven needled napped fabric which has been highly commercially successful is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,260,640, issued July 12, 1966, and assigned to the assignee of the present invention.
The napped sides or raised fiber surfaces of these nonwoven fabrics are conventionally chemically treated to additionally bond the raised fibers on the napped surfaces to the fabric for providing resistance to pilling and shedding of the raised fibers on the napped surfaces of the nonwoven fabric. Such chemical treatment processes for nonwoven napped fabrics are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,288,103 and 3,288,553, issued Nov. 29, 1966, and assigned to the assignee of the present invention.
However, even with such chemical treatments of the napped sides of the nonwoven fabrics, certain problems with pilling and shedding of the napped fibers have occurred. These problems are particularly acute in the manufacture of baby blankets in which the shedding and pilling of the loose fibers from the napped surfaces may have harmful effects on the infants utilizing such baby blankets.